V.I.P. Meets Angel Investigations
by The Raven Dark Angel
Summary: The most unlikely collaborations in history! Now, Angel has a daughter, Jessica, and when Cordelia has a vision of VIP in trouble, they go in to help. Problem is, Nikki hates Cordy's guts, and both Johnny and Quick are fighting for Jessica's affection...
1. Default Chapter

Note: Charles Gunn is now working in Angel Investigations. Enjoy this fic! It's my first time doing this, so...please R and R!!  
  
"Honey, did you see the coffee anywhere?" Angel asked, glancing around at the empty coffeemaker. "Or did you forget to get it again?"   
  
Eighteen year-old Jessica Summers shrugged, giving her father a bright smile. "It's not me this time. Ask Aunt Cordy. She knows."   
  
"Hey hey hey, what do you mean 'She knows'?" Cordelia demanded from her newly renovated desk. "Wesley was the last one seen around the coffee maker." she paused for a while. "And don't call me 'Aunt'. Cordy will do. the word 'aunt' seems so...old." she wrinkled her nose and picked out a donut from the box.  
  
Angel sighed and put down his coffee cup, being careful to avoid the sunlight shining through the uncomfortably large windows. Even though it had been covered by curtains, being a vampire, he still felt uneasy with the potentially fatal sunshine.   
  
He looked over at his daughter, who looked back at him innocently with chocolate brown eyes that were mirrors of his own.  
  
Jessica Summers had been bestowed onto him by the Powers that Be. And since he was a vampire with no means to procreate, They had taken some of Buffy's and Angel's essence to create Angelline Summers, a normal human being, but gifted with her mother's prowess, extraordinary strength and startling speed that had been discovered not long ago when Angel had been sparring with her.   
  
It was difficult to imagine that four years ago, she was still an infant. Jessica had grown rapidly, and now, thankfully, she had stopped at the age of eighteen to nineteen. It was as if something in her had awakened during that period of time, and she had blossomed into an exceedingly beautiful young woman.  
  
Being his own flesh-and-blood, Angel loved her above all things, but drew the line between loving and totally spoiling. He had trained her intensively in martial arts, and she had learnt very fast, and was capable of mastering new skills on her own. Well, with the help of the TV and a few videotapes anyway.   
  
Although Jessica looked nothing like her mother, Buffy Summers, his lover and soul-mate who had died a little over a year ago in a bloody battle, they were both exactly alike in more aspects than one.   
  
Angel still missed Buffy, but he knew that she never was really gone; she was always with him, in his heart, in his soul. And Angel lived secure in the fact that he would be reunited with her someday.  
  
Dark brown hair fell in loose ringlets, framing Jessica's slightly pale face and barely touching her shoulders, as the dark eyes, the same pair she had inherited from her father, shone with warmth and innocence, free from the guilt and agony that had burdened Angel for more than a hundred years.  
  
Her lips were a natural dark champagne red, and all of it contributed to her overall exotic features. Cordy and Wesley had taken to her immediately, and Angel had to stop them, sometimes, from spoiling her through and through. And well, another very useful addition to the Angel Investigations team was truly welcome, and Angel had always looked forward to the day when he would finally be human.   
  
Wolfram and Hart, the rogue lawyer's firm that had always been responsible for most of the bad things that come along in L.A., had been totally destroyed-together with the vampire sire Darla again-for good.  
  
"Speaking of, where's Wesley and Gunn?" Angel asked, looking around for the ex-Watcher, now turned "Rogue demon hunter", and for his other pal, a kickass vampire hunter named Gunn, who lived the rough streets and killed vampires with practiced ease.   
  
"Wes went to the library earlier in the morning to borrow a few more dusty books to add to our collection of dusty and smelly books. Gunn followed him." Cordelia looked over at Angel and wrinkled her nose. "Seriously, don't you ever read Christopher Pike or Danielle Steele books?"   
  
Angel stared at her, feeling a familiar headache coming on whenever Cordy got into one of her moods, which more often than not consisted of constructive criticism on Angel's life, or unlife, to be exact. "Who?"  
  
Cordelia sighed. "Look, they're world famous authors. Do you live in a coffin or something? You really should go to more normal bookshops."   
  
"What's wrong with my books?"   
  
"I'm at a very impressionable age, you know." Jessica commented off-handedly, cutting into the conversation. She flashed them a cheeky grin when they turned back to look at her. "And I kinda like Dad's books. Okay, so not all, but hey, I deal. Even with the gruesome corpses."  
  
Cordelia was about to say something when a grimace of pain flashed across her features and she held a hand to her head.   
  
"Vision," Angel muttered as both he and Jessica rushed over to help her to the sofa. And judging from Cordelia's cries of pain, it seemed very bad.  
  
Worriedly, Jessica went to take some painkillers and a glass of water for Cordelia as the vision faded away.   
  
"It seems like a particularly nasty one," Angel observed, concerned. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I'll live, I think." Cordelia groaned as Jessica gave her the painkillers. "There's this girl. Alot on the ditzy bimbo side but great fashion sense," she said after drinking down the painkillers and the water, rubbing her head. "And people. But this one is the target, or something."   
  
"Cordy..." Angel started.   
  
"Okay, okay, I'm getting to it." she said irritably, which was no surprise, since the visions had always left Cordelia in a very bad mood. "Very nasty demon with slimy tentacles and goldfish eyes. It's a Morkoth demon. And vampires, many vampires..." she shuddered. "They were attacking her. Downtown L.A."  
  
She scribbled down the address and the woman's name quickly and passed it to them.   
  
"It's day out," he muttered. eyes narrowed with frustration at his vampiric weakness. "And there's no shelter to your car."   
  
"I'll go," Jessica said, as it was daytime, and Angel couldn't get anywhere without spontaneous combustion on his part. She hastily stuffed a battleax and a morningstar into her bag, then headed into the room to change quickly, emerging in a crop top and drawstring cargo pants.  
  
"I'll come along," Cordelia said quickly, standing up. "Two are better than one, after all."   
  
Angel nodded, a frown on his features as he tossed her the keys of the Plymouth. "Things are not as easy as it looks. Keep in touch. Don't wreck my car. And be careful."   
  
Jessica and Cordelia nodded, then headed out of the door.  
  
***********  
  
Tasha had barely fired off an entire round when the monster, the most horrifying thing she'd ever seen, snarled in a guttural way and launched itself at her, it's tentacles waving about menacingly.   
  
'Ohgod, ohgod.' she thought as she aimed a roundhouse kick at it. 'Is this some kind of trick?'   
  
Around her, her fellow teammates were fighting hideous men with fangs. If she didn't know better, she'd have thought they were vampires.   
  
Somewhere in the chaos, she heard Kay scream.   
  
"Get away!" Val shouted, horrified. "Who are you people? You guys are in serious need of a facial!"   
  
One of the hideous beings were heading towards her, and, with all her teammates' being busy, they failed to notice her. The ugly man leered at her.   
  
"You talking to me, blood bag?" he hissed, mouth open wide.   
  
Val screamed, then saw something pointy and wooden stab out from his chest. The ugly man froze for a moment, and instead of bleeding, it turned to dust, bringing Val face-to-face with her rescuer.   
  
It was a woman, and she was very pretty, with dark brown eyes and long brown hair that reached well past her shoulders. Her mouth was set into a firm line as she handed Val something sharp and pointy.   
  
"Use this." the woman said to her. "Stab those ugly men in the heart. They'll go 'poof' and become harmless."   
  
"What are they?" Val asked, shocked.   
  
"We'll talk about that later. I've gotta help Jess." The stranger told her, then waded into the fight with another one she didn't know, a petite, strikingly beautiful brunette with commendable fashion sense, and unnaturally fast reflexes.   
  
Aiming a roundhouse kick at the nearest vampire who had set its sights on a honey of an Asian guy, Jessica tossed him a stake and a quick smile. "Stab it in the heart. Works like a charm."   
  
"Hey, thanks." he replied, then his eyes widened. "Look out!"   
  
The sudden change in the air warned her that a vampire was coming down on her, and Jessica turned just in time to raise the business end of the stake upwards, impaling it in the heart and covering Jessica with dust.   
  
She coughed and narrowly missed an offhand swipe of a vampire who had rainbow coloured hair, bearing a close resemblance to Bubbles the Clown.  
  
Bubbles snarled, obviously the ringleader. "Kill all of them!" he hissed over the din. "Gunnar! Take out the dumb blonde and get the girl!"   
  
"The boss?" Jessica tripped up the vampire and tackled him to the ground. She levelled the stake against Bubbles' chest. Which meant one small move and it would be sayonara for him.   
  
"All right, pal. This is where I grill you and you answer me honestly," she snapped. "One move and you'll disappear from the face of this earth, got it?"   
  
Bubbles the Clown glared at her and spat out, "Bitch."   
  
Jessica didn't react, but the tip of the stake pushed a little deeper, almost puncturing the skin. Knowing that she meant business, Bubbles quickly said, "Okay, okay, I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" he glanced around frantically for his followers, but they hadn't paid any attention to him at the moment. This time, he was on his own.   
  
"The Big Boss called me up, I swear. I haven't seen his face before, but he's dangerous stuff. We never meet. There's always this guy from the blood delivery service thing down outside Crointh Studios. Guys says the Big Boss is gunning for the VIP agency, 'cause of something or other. We're just carrying out orders."   
  
"What's the name of this guy?" she demanded.   
  
Bubbles hesitated for a while. "Ricky the Shark."   
  
"Well, pal," Jessica said with a sudden grin. "You've just made the biggest mistake by coming here since you decided to pop out of the ground like a weed."   
  
Before Bubbles could protest, she sank her trusty stake all the way in, going right through his heart. "Bye."   
  
The scar-faced vampire reached over to grab Val, but ended up as a pile of dust when the Asian guy flipped over with martial arts precision and staked him.  
  
"Who're you calling dumb?" Val snapped. If it was something she hated, it was being called a dumb blonde.  
  
Jessica moved like lightning, covering Cordelia's back and making her way towards the main attraction: The Morkoth demon, who was busy trying to maul somebody at the moment.   
  
Slipping her stakes back into her pocket, she withdrew her battleax and the morningstar from the duffel bag at her feet.   
  
'Good,' she thought approvingly, and hefting the two deadly weapons experimentally to test their weight, she was behind the demon in strides.   
  
The Morkoth demon was about to attack the tall, brunette woman when she tapped it smartly on the back. "Me first, Demon Boy."   
  
As it swung around, she sank the steel-tipped morningstar deep into its huge, bloodshot, eye. It let out an inhuman scream as the morningstar stuck there like a growth.   
  
It thrashed around wildly as Jessica yanked the stunned woman into the safety area. Nimble on her feet, Jessica backflipped gracefully past the tentacles, careful not to come in contact with any of them. A few whipped at her, breaking skin and drawing blood.   
  
'Crap, got to watch for that right tentacle there.' Jessica winced in pain, but concentrated on locating the neck. The battle ax was immensely useful in separating necks from bodies, which was essential now.   
  
Finally catching sight of it under the gigantic layer of blob and slime, she let fly the battleax.   
  
There was the sound of bone snapping as the Morkoth demon fell to the floor with a wet and heavy 'thump'. In a flash, the body turned to red dust as the battleax and the morningstar clattered noisily to the floor. A few yards away from her, Cordelia was busy sticking the last stake into a vampire. There were several bruises on her, but otherwise, she was relatively okay.  
  
Chest heaving, she bent and picked up the morningstar and the battleax.   
  
"Who are you?" the spike-haired woman demanded. "And what were those?"   
  
"Those," Jessica gestured to the dust on the floor. "Were vampires. And that one there was a demon. A Morkoth. Very useful with it's tentacles."   
  
"Vampires? Demons?" the blonde in glasses asked, unbelieving. "But they're like, pretend?"   
  
"Right. If they're not vampires, what's with the fangs and the dust? They're not David Copperfields, you know." Cordelia huffed, coming up to Jessica and trying to catch her breath. "I'm gonna be feeling sore for the rest of today."   
  
"We're from Angel Investigations," Jessica said with a small smile and extended a hand.   
  
"Oh," Recognition dawned in Vallery's eyes, together with an excited, wide smile. "So you were the guys who brought down the Wolfram and Hart company, that despicable, slimy law firm?"   
  
"Yeah." Cordelia nodded. "It wasn't a mass suicide or murder as they claimed. They were demons. So we put the kibosh on all of them.' she grimaced. "Took me a month to recover from that one."   
  
"So...you're demon hunters?" the cute Negro asked doubtfully, with a frown.   
  
"Basically, yeah. But we don't say that on our resume. It tends to freak people out." Jessica shrugged, then handed each one of them a card. "I'm Jessica Summers, and this is my associate, Cordelia Chase."   
  
"Hi, I'm Vallery Irons, and I'm in charge of the V.I.P. Agency," Val said eagerly, shaking Jessica's hand enthusiastically. "And these are all my associates."   
  
One by one, they were all introduced to them. The tallest one with a kickass, cool, sassy, attitude Jessica had saved earlier was Tasha, the spike-haired cutie was Nikki, with a daredevil attitude that appealed to Jessica personally.   
  
The pretty blonde with glasses was Kay, and strangely, she reminded Cordelia a little of the resident Sunnydale nerdette and boyfriend snatcher, Willow Rosenberg. It still surprised her mildly that she still nursed a grudge against Willow. Because of Xander Harris, a loser she had made the mistake of dating while she was in high school.  
  
The handsome through-and-through Asian guy was called Johnny-who had already caught Jessica's attention, and it seemed to be mutual-and the other guy was Quick.   
  
The last one, cowering in a corner, with wide, frightened eyes, was helped up by Tasha and Nikki. She was pretty, in a mousy way, with bright red hair and blue eyes. She was a client of theirs, it seemed.   
  
"Boy, you and Gunn would make a perfect pair. Short and fast names." Cordelia commented to Quick.   
  
"Gun?" Kay asked curiously. "Like Guns and Roses "Gun"?"   
  
"Nope." Cordelia said patiently, shooting her a look. "Gunn. With a double "n". He's a demon hunter like us. Been in the business for very long, but he's a pretty much new member."   
  
"Okay, let's get back on track." Jessica looked over at them. "You've gotta be careful now, a big shot guy is seriously gunning for you guys, and he's got a LOT of demons under him, from the sounds of it."   
  
"So, vampire tips: They are very allergic to sunlight. Fire, beheading, and wooden stakes through the heart can kill them. Garlic and holy water have their uses, too. Oh, and don't ever invite them in. They can't come in unless invited." Cordelia ticked the points off her fingers. "That's enough to protect you guys if you stay inside this place."   
  
"Wait, wait." Nikki said, shaking her head. "You mean, demons are after us? Demons?"   
  
Jessica nodded. "Yeah. It sounds unbelievable at first, but it's true. The demons part."   
  
Quick looked over at the card. "'We help the helpless?' We're helpless?"   
  
"In the terms of demon hunting and vampire-ass kicking, yeah." Cordelia told him bluntly. "We're here to help."   
  
"How'd you know we need help? You both seem to know that we're in trouble." Tasha looked at them curiously.   
  
"We have a radar here." Jessica grinned and pointed to Cordelia. "She is a Seer. Which means she had visions and everything of people in trouble. So we kinda know where to look. Saves a lot of time." she paused. "Do you know why they came?"   
  
Val nodded, and gestured to the mousy girl. "They wanted her. Her name's Cassandra LaVelle."   
  
Cassandra, who looked barely sixteen, was now seated on an undamaged table, looked up at the two new arrivals and nodded slightly. She seemed to be recovering from the shock quite well, Jessica observed.   
  
"She, uh, can't talk." Kay told them, adjusting her glasses and cleaning up the mess as best as she could. "She's been like that since the first day she came."   
  
"Oh." Cordelia realized, then thought for a while. "Why do they want her?"   
  
"There's this woman, Cassandra's guardian, I think. She came to us and hired us as bodyguards to protect her." Quick said. "From what, she didn't say. She just wanted a bodyguard."   
  
Jessica looked at her closely. She wasn't popular or anything, at least she didn't recognaize Cassandra LaVelle's name anywhere. There were two reasons for hiring bodyguards. One was to protect form the crowds and the paparazzi, and another was to protect one from a dangerous person. She was pretty sure Cassandra came up with the second option.   
  
But she looked so helpless and afraid, and Jessica's heart went out to her. The Big Boss or whatever was definitely dangerous, and she wondered what made the Big Boss come after that girl.  
  
Jessica handed Cassandra her namecard. "Here. This is my namecard. My dad's name is Angel, and he would definitely be able to help you."   
  
Cassandra accepted it meekly and nodded, ducking her head, refusing to look into Jessica's eyes.   
  
"Look, she's our client, and you can't-" Nikki started, but was cut off by Cordelia.   
  
"No, *you* look here, your client is in BIG trouble with demons that can break your neck without even bothering to say "Hi", and you're talking about business?" she snapped, annoyed now. "I've got a blasted visionby the Powers That Be, for christsakes, and it's not for nothing. Angel Investigations is DEFINITELY roped into this case, like it or not."   
  
"I don't like you." Nikki glared at Cordelia.  
  
"Good, because I don't either." Cordelia, who already had loads of attitude and experience on how to handle people the hard way to boot, glared back, crossing her arms over her chest and pursing her lips. God, she was SO annoying!  
  
"Uh, Cordy?" It was Jessica, who had decided to step in, while flashing Nikki an apologetic smile that said clearly, "sorry about that". "Be nice."   
  
"I *am* nice." she replied through gritted teeth. Val, on the other hand, had decided to step in too and put a hand on Nikki's arm.  
  
"All right then. We'll work together on this case." she looked at Cassandra, who was simply sitting there. "The lives of our clients matter more than anything. And you two, stop arguing."   
  
"Uhh, I guess I came too late?" came a new, familiar voice. Jessica and Cordelia spun around and saw Gunn standing there, surveying the damage, a small smile on his face. "Nice job, chicas."   
  
"That's our other associate, Gunn. Charles Gunn." Jessica introduced, pleased to see him.   
  
"Hey, all." Gunn grinned and gave them a small wave. "What's up?"   
  
He then turned to Cordelia. "Angel says that we've got another mission on our hands. What gives?"   
  
"Tell you about it later," Cordelia told him. "For now, meet our new "clients" and the client of our clients."   
  
After a quick round of introduction, it was back to business.   
  
"All right, chances are that they won't strike again, so we've gotta go," Jessica told them. "We'll come back at around sunset, would that be okay with you?"   
  
Val nodded, approving. "All right then. See you later."   
  
When they were out finally, Jessica turned to the both of them seriously. "Word says that there's a blood delivery job going on down somwhere near Corinth Studios, and one of 'em, Ricky the Shark, probably has links to whoever is after Cassandra. To be able to send demons like that, he must be pretty big." she paused for a while and looked back at the building. "Gunn, I need you to keep watch on Cassandra from now till sunset. I'm not taking any chances."   
  
Gunn looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, sure." he started to head back to the building. "I'll call if anything crops up. So keep the line free."   
  
"Right."   
  
With that, she got into the car with Cordelia and they drove off.   
  
"I can't believe that woman!" Cordelia hissed as soon as they were away from that place. "Bitchy much? Egoistic much?"   
  
"Uh, maybe you should calm down," Jessica told her as she reached a traffic light. "Improves the client-associate relationship. Besides, she isn't so bad."  
  
"We save her butt and she isn't even grateful! What kind of person is that?" Cordelia demanded, a frown on her pretty features. "We're taking away business? Hello!! We've got much more business than they ever did!"   
  
Knowing that it probably wasn't true, Jessica shook her head. "Cord, this isn't about business. Not in the strictest sense, anyway. It's about my dad getting redemption." a dreamy look crossed her eyes. "And becoming human. I've always wanted to do some real father-daughter bonding with him, and I'd like to be around when he turns human."   
  
Cordelia was quiet.   
  
"Yeah, me too." she said finally, a small smile on her face. "I'd really love to see him getting a tan and everything. I bet he could reel in all the girls."   
  
Jessica looked disturbed. "Reel in all the girls?" she frowned. "Dads aren't supposed to do that, right?" she glanced at Cordelia. "My dad's my dad."  
  
"Your dad's hot." Cordelia told her patiently. "And on the outside, he's young, and many women would want a piece of him. What do you think?"  
  
"But...what about Mom?" she asked, confused. "Don't you think Dad will be faithful to Mom?"   
  
"Jess," Cordelia sighed. "There's a lot of things you're gonna have to learn about men. Some of them are faithful, but some aren't. Your dad may be either one, but don't you think he's going to do a little dating when he turns human? And the Gypsy curse leaves him sexually frustrated. Imeagine not having sex for that many years? It's enough to kill him."   
  
Jessica looked horrified. "I just can't imagine my dad doing that." she grimaced. "Eww...I really can't imagine him doing...*thing*." a slight flush of pink tinged her pale cheeks, then she frowned, thinking of Kate Lockley, the bitchy policewoman in the LAPD who had found out that her father was a vampire and hadn't given him the time of the day since. "If my dad dates Police Woman, I'll disinherit him."   
  
**********  
  
"I don't see why we have to work with *them*." Nikki muttered, pacing the floor to dispel her annoyance. "That Cordelia is...never mind."   
  
"Come on Nikki," Kay looked at her friend as they tried to straighten the mess out. "We definitely need help. She's right, you know." Kay shuddered. "Those...vampires were disgusting."   
  
Nikki wasn't listening, as she turned to Gunn, who was looking around the room, hands casually stuffed into his cardigan pockets. "Is that Cordelia always like that?"   
  
Gunn shrugged. "Well, she may be a little on the forward and blunt side, but she's good at heart. Just gotta get used to her."   
  
"How about the other one?" Johnny asked suddenly, a smile on his face. "She's hot."   
  
"Uh-uh," Gunn wagged a finger in his face. "No touching, pal. She's my boss's daughter and off-limits."   
  
Quick grinned. "Not really." he threw a glance in Johnny's direction. "I like her too. She's sizzling."   
  
"Hey," Johnny stiffened, glaring at him. "Why do you always like the girls *I* do?"   
  
"Why, scared?"   
  
"Never. She likes me."   
  
"They're always like this." Tasha told Gunn with a sigh. "Two boys fighting to be Alpha dog. We get it all the time."   
  
Amused, Gunn turned to Cassandra, who was seated catatonically in a chair, eyes unfocued and unblinking. "Is she always like this?"   
  
Tasha nodded sympathetically. "Yeah. Sometimes, she sits like this for long moments, or else she cowers in the corner. I wonder who would be so cold-blooded as to want to kill her."   
  
Then, Gunn had an idea. Why hadn't Jessica asked for the guardian's name? "What's her guardian's name?"   
  
"Fontaine. Marie Fontaine. The CEO of Fontaine Enterprises."   
  
"Whoa. That's pretty big." he remarked, then removed a cell phone from his pocket. "Excuse me for a moment while I make a call."   
  
*************  
  
"We've got to check the blood deliery ring and bust it for good," Angel said, as soon as Cordelia and Jessica were finished relating their story.   
  
"Nuh-uh, not now, Angel." Cordelia said, gesturing the the hints of sunlight through the windows. "Sun. Not good. We've got to wait till tonight, where you won't be at a disadvantage."   
  
"I know," Angel nodded with a frown. "But that blood supply ring was supposed to be extinct. How come it's revived again?"   
  
"My guess is that whomever wants to get to Cassandra has revived the business." Wesley spoke up. "This is L.A., after all. The dead always comes to life again. In one way or another."   
  
"He must be as powerful as Wolfram and Hart, or something like that." Jessica commented. "Gunn's at their place looking protecting Cassandra." she looked at the clock. Five hours till sundown. And since Angel couldn't do anything right now, the vampires in the blood delivery couldn't, either.  
  
"Is anyone hungry?" Cordelia said suddenly, rubbing her stomach. "I haven't had anything to eat since the donut I had just now. Killing vampires make me hungry."   
  
"I've bought lunch." Wesley stood up and headed into the kitchen, then appeared again with two still warm styrofoam food boxes in his hands. "Curry." he said, putting it down on the table in front of them. "You'll like it."   
  
"I did," Angel commented off-handedly. "Save some for me, Jess. I haven't tried it in so long."   
  
"I'll remember to get you a packet when I go out." Wesley said. Although Angel was a vampire, he still had the sense of taste. Even though food didn't exactly keep him going, he liked ton eat every once in a while, just to savour the taste of the food.   
  
"Thanks, Wes." Jessica grinned at him. "I like curry."   
  
"You're welcome, Jessie." Wesley smiled at her, in a way a parent does. "Eat up. You've got a lot of work to do later."   
  
True enough, the phone rang, startling everyone. Cordelia stood up and headed over to the desk.   
  
"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless." she said perkily as she picked the phone up. She listened for a while, punctuated with "uh-huhs" and "yeahs" and finally, a "stay with her,".   
  
Cordelia put down the phone, looking excited. "Guess what? Cassandra is the niece of Marie Fontaine, CEO of Fontaine Enterprises!"   
  
"Fontaine Enterprises?" Wesley frowned, adjusting his glasses. "I think I've heard of it before..."   
  
"It's a major movie-making company, no DUH!!" Cordelia exclaimed, ecstatic. "They produce most of the biggest hits in Hollywood!! Think about my career, guys! If we finish this mission, the CEO will be grateful to me and may offer me a leading part next to Brad Pitt!!"   
  
Angel and Wesley both exchanged glances. "Uhh, that's good. Cordy." Angel started. "But unless she has some kind of enemy or rival after Cassandra, why did she go to the bodyguard agency? Her ward is not known or popular. It'd make more sense if Fontaine applied for a bodyguard herself."   
  
"Dad's got a point." Jessica nodded in agreement. "There's something majorly wrong with this picture. What's Marie Fontaine's connection to Cassandra Lavelle? Way weird." she frowned, deep in thought.   
  
"I'll go and look it up," Cordelia promised cheerily. The idea of Marie Fontaine asking her to star in a new blockbuster movie was definitely sweet. Well, a girl could keep hoping, couldn't she? She'd seen Fontaine Studios before, and they were MAGNIFICENT.   
  
Fleetingly, she wondered if she would ever have the chance to enter. And work there as an actress, making it big and get known all over the world.   
  
It would be just like Sunnydale High all over again, with the admirers, followers, hanging on to every word she said. Except that Hollywood was much more glitzier and she could meet up with all the hottest stars...   
  
'That's gonna be a pretty long way, Chase,' she thought to herself dreamily. ''But it would be worth a try after all.'   
  
  
Next part coming soon. :) 


	2. Chapter 2

"The errand I sent after the bodyguard agency was foiled, I presume?" came a deceptively soft voice from within the lengthy shadows.  
  
The large, expensive windows were closed securely, letting no light in. Despite this, Ricky still felt uncomfortable. He hated it when the boss got like that. It usually meant that he was in a bad mood. And when the boss was in the bad mood, you wouldn't know what to expect. Most of the time-he had witnessed it on several occasions-very nasty things happened.   
  
Sure, he'd been reborn well over fifty years ago, but the boss had lived much longer than he did. How old, he didn't exactly know. But what he knew was that the boss commanded a lot of respect and fear in all his henchmen. As well as within the underworld circles.   
  
Ricky was slapped on with the latter, as he struggled not to let his trembling show. He had failed, and the boss had made clear what the price of failure was. "Y-yes, boss. The cronies I sent were incompetent. I'll make it right the next time," he floundered for words. "I-I promise. Give me another chance, boss. I'll make it right, I swear."   
  
Chillingly, the boss, known more famously as Marco de Fontaine, or Marco the Day Walker, smiled chillingly, leaning forward in his mahogany desk, a smile on his strikingly handsome face. One thing that the boss was exceptional in was that although he was a vampire, he could walk in daylight. And that, was what made him deadly. And the boss was very well-versed in the occult, which made him all the more dangerous. Ricky was afraid of him. Hell, everyone who met him was.   
  
"No, no, no. Why would I kill you?" he leaned back and took an elegant sip of a fresh virgin's blood from his crystalline glass-that most probably cost much more than Ricky made in a year-deliberately making Ricky's mouth water even as he watched. The warm liquid was intoxicating, and Marco savoured it for a moment before opening his eyes. "The bait is taken. The vampire with the filthy soul will come for me now." his smile grew wider as he licked his elongating fangs in anticipation.   
  
"I've always wanted to taste what his soul's like." Marco went on conversationally, gesturing Ricky to take a seat, which he did willingly. "Pure, marvellous."   
  
"I will get him for you, sir." Ricky promised, eager to get back into his master's good books.   
  
Marco waved a hand that was bedecked with jewelled rings of every kind. "No. I'll do this myself. He has destroyed one of my important little pawns, and I want his soul removed from him." he growled, eyes glinting with inhuman fury.   
  
"You mean Wolfram and Hart, sir?" Ricky asked meekly.   
  
"Yes," Marco struggled to get his anger under control. A gentleman never lost his temper. "Wolfram and Hart was one of my bigger works, my pride and joy. And the meddlesome vampire destroyed it. Brought it down." he looked at Ricky for a moment, contemplating something."Where is the girl?"   
  
Ricky froze in fear. "W-we haven't got her yet, sir. The meddlesome people from the vampire's pathetic little company came and killed all of them before they could do anything."   
  
"Get her." Marco snarled suddenly. He wanted the LaVelle girl against all odds. Not even that snivelling Marie could save her from him now. Cassandra was essential to his plans to enable him to become totally invincible. For now, he was still afraid of holy water and crosses. Stakes and beheading could still kill him. With Cassandra, the Key, he would not be harmed by anything under the sun. He would be untouchable.   
  
He would truly become immortal.   
  
Marco had already started to devour souls as well, and found it to his fancy. Blood had only satisfied his thirst, but not his hunger for souls. And once that pesky turncoat's soul was dealt with, the notorious vampire named Angelus would be back. His sire would be back to aid him, to spread the evil, to restore the Evil Ones that had once walked this world before the humans came.   
  
"Protect my investment, and make sure the vampire with the filthy soul doesn't come for them. Get one of the demons to watch and trail him. I want everything on him."  
  
As Marco watched Ricky the dog scramble out, pathetic as he was, he couldn't help but laugh at his impending victory.  
  
If the vampire named Angel was truly the Angelus of old, all the better. Marco had heard wonderful and horrifying stories about the One with the Angelic Face, of his brutal, malicious brand of torture. Marco was longing to meet him once more. Angelus had made him one night, just before the restoration of his soul, and Marco was going to bring Angelus back. Together, they would ride the useless mortals like ponies and drink to their heart's content.   
  
Earth would be their hell.   
  
Angelus the demon would finally be back, and he would have the most precious soul of all.   
  
**************  
  
"All right, here's the plan." Angel said briskly as soon as the sun's deadly rays dipped low over the horizon. He slipped on his trenchcoat quickly and looked over at them. "Wesley will come with me to check the blood-supply ring out. Jess, you and Cordy go to the V.I.P. headquarters. If I don't come back within an hour, send backup."   
  
"Right," Jessica nodded firmly as she wriggled into her own coat, a polished leather dress-coat that reached to her calves snugly. "We're meeting up in the V.I.P headquarters then?"   
  
He nodded quickly. "Yeah. I want to check the girl out, since records show nothing on the girl."   
  
"That, in itself, is plainly unnatural." Wesley commented blandly as he packed in a few stakes into his pocket and picked up a lethal-looking crossbow. "We didn't even find her birth certificate in any of the archives."  
  
Jessica frowned. "Then she just...appeared?" her expression grew hopeful. Maybe there was someone like her after all. "Like me?"   
  
"You didn't just appear," Angel told her gently. He knew she had a few issues about growing rapidly and having almost no childhood at all, unlike normal human children, and he wanted her to feel better. Especially since he was feeling guilty about it.   
  
'To fit in?' a voice asked at the back of his head snidely. 'You know she would never fit in. Like you. You know she isn't like other humans.' Angel pushed away the thought, then continued his sentence. "You were born. Like a normal child. And since I do not have any procreating abilities, the Powers That Be mixed my essence with your mother's. That how YOU came about."   
  
Jessica relaxed into a sunny smile, although the smile didn't touch her wistful eyes. "I knew that."  
  
"All right, that's enough, you guys." Cordelia broke in. "You'd bettter kick their butts and come back in ONE piece."   
  
"Thanks, Cordy. We'll be careful." Angel agreed he and Wesley headed to the right, while Jessica and Cordelia moved towards the left.   
  
"We're gonna take my bike," Jessica told her, pointing to her baby, a sleek black motorcycle equipped with state-of-the-art gadgets and a silencer that made the bike run smooth as butter and quiet as a panther. "It's a long way."   
  
Cordelia sighed. "And there goes my painfully styled hair."   
  
Jessica grinned. "Well, I always have a helmet."   
  
Cordelia's eyes widened in horror. "No! Nothing but that! It totally spoils hair!! I mean, having a motorbike helmet wrapped around your head is a hazard. God knows what will happen to the hair follicles." she touched her hair ginerly. "Aveda can only fix that much."   
  
"It's for safety reasons."   
  
"Then I'd prefer to die in style than live in disgrace."   
  
************   
  
True enough, as Angel brought his trusty Plymouth Belvedere to a halt a distance away from the said area, it was deserted.   
  
Crumpled-up newspapers rolled along the empty roads like tumbleweed in an old wild west movie, giving it an overall deserted feeling.   
  
But it was far from deserted, Angel knew. It was filled with evil.   
  
Wesley stepped out of the car behind him, narrowly missing a painful experience with the door handle. He gripped a stake tightly in his hands and looked around as Angel sniffed the air cautiously. One could never be too careful.   
  
"Smell anything?" Wesley asked as he came up behind him, his eyes darting around warily. "It looks very deserted to me."   
  
"That's what they want you to think." Angel told him tersely as he moved towards a particular warehouse next to the run-down Corinth Studios. Fleetingly, he remembered how glorious Corinth Studios had been, churning out famous movies after famous movies.   
  
But now, as he surveyed the building that had lost it's splendour of the 60s, he felt a little sad for it.   
  
'Everything changes,' he thought. 'People, buildings, tastes change. Nothing lasts forever.'   
  
With a pang of sadness, he thought back to Buffy, his one and only love. She was so beautiful. Even now, he could remember what she looked like, how her touch felt. And her sweet kiss...  
  
Angel shook his head to clear the thoughts that distracted him. Right now, he needed to concentrate, to bust this group once and for all. And find out who they were working for by the way. Los Angeles had to be rid of another menace.   
  
Just then, the faintest hint of a coppery tang reached his nostrils. Angel stiffened. So what the vampire had told Jessica was true after all. The blood delivery was back in business.   
  
'But who revived it?' he had to know, especially after he wrecked everything so it was irrepairable. It was all too strange. Considering the vision Cordelia had, this might, in some way, be connected to everything.   
  
"I think it's right that way," Wesley said suddenly, pointing to the right. "That door looks newly installed."   
  
Angel nodded. "Keep your eyes peeled, Wesley. This may be a big operation. Chances are we'll be outnumbered."   
  
Wesley swallowed and nodded. "Right. Why didn't I think of that?" he held on to his stake tightly as Angel stuck his hands in his duster pockets and removed two more.   
  
"This time it's going down for good." he said quietly, remembering Doyle, a half-demon who was the first one to help him when he was new in the city and not sure where to start. Doyle had been the one with the vision. But he had transferred it to Cordelia when he died-in the form of a kiss, which may be the profession of his love for her-and Cordelia had been griping about it. But deep down, Angel knew, Cordelia loved Doyle, in her own way.   
  
************  
  
"All right, we're here." Jessica announced as Cordelia got off first with an audible sigh of relief, obviously glad to be still among the living. She had acquired the help of several new gods she hadn't believed in previously, and silently thanked them for keeping her intact.   
  
"I change my mind about the bike helmet thingy." Cordelia announced, then frowned at her suspiciously. "Are you sure you're qualified? Let me see some driver's license."   
  
"You were with me when I took my driving test."   
  
"Somehow, I think that was a clone of you. Or something."   
  
"That was a car. This is a motorbike."   
  
"You're supposed to be good at both."   
  
"It was that bad?"  
  
"Well, let's put it this way: you are the reason why road insurance is implemented and more hospitals are built." Cordelia told her peevishly. "Remind me to call my insurance agent later."   
  
With that, Cordelia marched into the V.I.P. Headquarters with Jessica in tow.  
  
"Hi everyone." Cordelia chirped as she entered the place. The large room now was a far cry from what it looked like in the morning: computers and screens of every shape and size were running, and nearby was a whole collection of guns in every style.   
  
'Too bad they didn't have any *real* useful tool against demons and the supernatural.' Jessica thought, looking around. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel impressed. Now, if only her dad would take interior designing tips from them, she and the rest of the "staff" would be happy campers.  
  
"Hi!" Val grinned, then looked around. "I thought you were bringing your boss here too?"   
  
"Uh, he's got something to settle first. The blood delivery company down the road." Jessica told her with an apologetic smile. "We believe that the ringleader might know something about who's after her." she tilted her head in the direction of Cassandra, who was lying on the sofa motionless, save for some muffled groans and whines.   
  
"Wait a minute," Nikki snapped. "*He* went ahead without filling us in the plan?"   
  
"Hey, the last time I checked, you aren't a vampire slayer." Cordelia leapt to Angel's defense. "So don't go all "Tomb Raider" on me, okay? We're saving your asses here and you're not grateful at all."   
  
"We don't need you to save our butts." Nikki shot back angrily. "We were in a middle of a fight of some kind and you have the nice timing to drop by and save us, giving us the crap about visions and everything. News flash: There are NO such thing as demons in this world. They don't freakin' EXIST." her eyes narrowed to slits as she ragarded them.  
  
Whipping out a large gun, she pointed it at them. "I'll bet you are after the girl and you rigged it up just so you can become the good guy and we all trust you. Seriously, I don't trust you at all."   
  
"One, believe it or not, we're telling the truth. There ARE such things as demons, vampires, and werewolves. Why not go and take a long walk in the cemetery in the middle of the night? You'd see one of those non-existent demons having you for a late-night snack." Jessica regarded Nikki calmly, inwardly feeling irritated. "Two, and if we wanted to get Cassandra, we sure have lots of chances to do it." she gestured at Gunn.   
  
"Three," Jessica continued with a small smile as her booted feet flashed out in a black blur and lashed out at the gun Nikki was holding. Nikki yelped in pain as the gun sailed up in the air, with the hard leather of Jessica's feet connecting with her wrist.   
  
In a flash of anger, Nikki rushed for Jessica with a flurry of kicks and blows. But Nikki was just an ordinary human; Jessica was not. She deflected the blows with martial arts precision, and in just a simple feint, a sweep kick, and a hard elbow, Nikki was pinned securely to the floor just in time for Jessica to catch the gun in her hand and point it at her forehead.   
  
"I don't like guns." she said calmly. "Especially when they're pointed at me. You can choose to believe us, or you don't. No skin off my nose. But if you attempt to damage my associates' life in any way while we're on this case," her soft brown eyes grew hard and cold. "You're gonna pray that you were never born at all."  
  
Defeated, Nikki glared up at her attacker in anger, too furious to say anything. Up till now, no one had defeated her in combat before! But here, now, some mysterious girl had gained the upper hand so easily. Jessica released the pressure and stood up, brushing off her hands casually.   
  
"Questions?"   
  
Everyone in the room, save for Gunn and Cordelia, were surprised at her speed and strength, speechless to say anything for a moment. Gunn couldn't help a grin from spreading on his face. Well, that Nikki deserved a wake-up call anyway. And obviously what Jessica just did had more or less assured them that she was serious.   
  
"Right," Val stepped in hastily. "If we're going to work together on this case, we're going to have to need all the help we can get," she shot a meaningful look at Nikki, who was seething in anger and massaging her sore wrist. "After all, they're on our side."   
  
"All right." Nikki said finally, glowering at them. "Tell us where the blood delivery company is. I'll check it out."   
  
"No." Cordelia said flatly. "My boss has got it under control."   
  
"Way I look at it, there's bound to be many so-called demons involved. Your boss isn't Superman."   
  
"Yeah well, he isn't human either."   
  
"I can deal. We don't need you guys." Nikki said challengingly, moving a step forward.   
  
"Yeah right. Go in there and see how long you live." Cordelia moved another step forward, the hostility between them loud and clear, despite the way Jessica had stepped in just now. There was a sarcastic smile of Cordelia's face, and Jessica was a little worried of what she would say next. They both seemed to hate each other's guts, that much was evident.   
  
Things weren't exactly sunny, and Cordy was making it worse. Jessica understood the age-old instinct of protecting what was one's, but did Nikki have to be so damned stand-offish?   
  
"And besides," Cordy continued, crossing her arms over her chest smugly. "Your ass just got kicked by Angel's kid here. Clearly, she's very much better than it than you are. And her skills were taught by her father. So, what makes you think *you* can deal? If you can manage to defeat Jess, then we'll talk about it. Don't forget, she's seasoned in this."   
  
'Well, that isn't exactly true,' Jessica thought automatically. She had only killed a few assorted little demons and vampires, and that was including the ones she had staked in the morning. And even that, she had sustained more than a few unnecessary bruises and injuries which were already in the process of healing. Her healing process was slower than her father's, but faster than a normal human's, when it came right down to it. 'Man, I'm pretty new at this too.'   
  
"That's enough, Cordy," Gunn interrupted before an enraged Nikki could say anything. "We're not here to quarrel. We're here to work things out."   
  
Val shot him a grateful look as Tasha went forward and spoke to Nikki briefly, managing to calm her down somewhat.   
  
"Sorry," Val apologized. "We didn't mean to doubt you and everything." she leaned forward. "What's the plan?"   
  
Jessica thought for a while, a frown on her pretty features. "Have you checked up on Fontaine Enterprises for any disputes or company rivals of any kind? Whoever sent those demons is definitely powerful."   
  
"Yeah, but we didn't find anything of importance." Kay shrugged. "Maybe the dispute is personal or something. When you're up on the Ten Most Powerful People list, there's a lot of people out there who'll want to tear you down."   
  
"The world, what a beautiful place." Jessica mumbled under her breath. This, so far, would be her third case, and she was happy about it. Happy in the sense that she might at least be able to help, and her father would be one step towards his redemption. Especially after the much-talked-about destruction of Wolfram and Hart. The victims of that agency-and those who really knew what had happened-had poured in their gratitude towards Angel Investigations, and probably much more people knew about them already. Which wasn't entirely bad.   
  
Cordelia threw a look in Cassandra's direction and frowned. "Maybe they're not after Marie Fontaine. Maybe all they want is her."   
  
"I wouldn't know," Johnny said doubtfully. "There had been a few attempted sabotages within Fontaine Enterprises lately. The police are keeping a tight lid on it."   
  
"*Very* tight." Kay agreed. "Even I have a hard time hacking into their databases."   
  
"We'll have to check up on Marie Fontaine and possibly her entire family." Gunn spoke up. "Famous person like her, there's bound to be a lot of info on the net about her. We may have some idea about who's gunning for Cassandra."  
  
"May be an evil, demon-worshipping cult bent on getting her as a human sacrifice, slice her open, and string all her organs up as a necklace to put on the demon's neck." Cordelia said cheerfully.   
They all looked at her.   
  
"What?" she frowned at them. "It could happen."   
  
Val grimaced. "You guys deal with all these? Eww."   
  
"Most of the time." Jessica nodded casually, then said to Cordelia, her nose wrinkling. "Do you have to be so *graphic*?" then she turned back to Val. "Usually, we cut all their heads off. The demons, I mean. Not the people."   
  
"I've lived here for so long and I haven't even had the faintest idea that there are demons wreaking havoc around." Tasha mused.   
  
"It's the typical denial thing." Jessica assured her with a careless shrug. "We have it all the time. But it always makes the job easier."   
  
*********  
  
The door, surprisingly, wasn't locked. Angel and Wesley exchanged looks as they slowly opened the heavy door, muscles coiled and tensed for what was behind the door. They were walking into a trap and they knew it.   
  
Luckily Angel had caught sight of a tiny door at the back next to the Dumpster at the other end of the huge, seemingly deserted building. Graffiti decorated the mossy walls, mostly of vulgarities and obscene pictures.   
  
His senses on the alert, Angel headed into the darkness of the building, followed by Wesley. Being in the dark for centuries helped him sharpen his night vision, and he had no problem with the dark. What he was worried about, was Wesley. He could hear the Britishman fumbling about in the dark, but being, in general, a lot quieter now.   
  
'Strange why they wouldn't light up this place.' Angel thought. Something was definitely wrong with this. There was no movement at all, and the scent of blood wasn't strong. It was a little stronger than the scent outside, but not much. Which could only mean one thing.   
  
The blood delivery service had moved.   
  
Cursing under his breath, he removed a tiny flashlight from his pocket and flicked it on. It's powerful beam swept throughtout the bloodstained walls.   
  
Nothing.   
  
"There's nothing here." Angel growled. The smell of blood was still fresh, which meant they had moved not long ago.   
  
Wesley stiffened and looked around. Except for a large rat with sinister red eyes glaring at them when the light fell on it, there was nothing else. The bloodstains on the wall were the only signs that they were here at all.   
  
"It's as if they had been warned beforehand." he said to Wesley, feeling frustrated. "But by who?"   
  
"That's definitely the question of the hour," Wesley agreed, adjusting his glasses. "The big boss Jessica's vampire was talking about this morning, maybe."   
  
"He must've eyes everywhere." Angel mused aloud. But he was getting more and more annoyed. 'Darn those blood delivery services.'   
  
He was sure they were somewhere out there right now, gathering more victims for vampires who didn't want to hunt. More people were going to die tonight because he was too slow. He gritted his teeth in anger.  
  
'What can you do? You're only a vampire, you're not God.' he found a part of himself thinking. It was a wasted trip, coming out here.   
  
"Let's head back to where Jessica is. We still have the Fontaine case to deal with." Angel said to Wesley.   
  
*********  
  
Galway 1770  
  
"Please, please gentle sir, spare me my life. I have nothing now and my wife has left me...have pity on me."   
  
The pleading was like music to Angelus' ears as he circled his prey carefully. Marque Fontaine had been a wealthy merchant, one who had dealings with his now-dead father. Marque had thought of him only as a wastrel and a scoundrel, and when Angelus had been human, the man had always thought up of ways to make his life more miserable, rattling to his da about the wild antics and pranks he had been up to, more often than not false.   
  
Angelus' relationship with his family was not close; as he had always been the black sheep, the bad egg-so called-of the family. He had stolen from his family on several occasions, broke his mother's heart and his father's whip from the many times of thievery and beatings after that.   
  
Most of the money went to making merry and Betsy, his favourite at the bar. Blonde and beautiful, with an ample cleavage she had never bothered to hide, she drove Angelus wild. That was before he got changed by a classic beauty named Darla, a woman whom every man would fall heavily for. Now, she was his one and only. He had eyes for no other.   
  
She had transformed him from miserable mortal to something much, much more powerful and dark. It allowed him to be immortal, to live forever. And he was enjoying every bit of it.   
  
"Do you know how many people I've killed?" he mused aloud as he looked Marque over, a pathetic figure cowering in the shadows as Darla looked on in unmasked delight. "I'm no gentle sir."   
  
Marque hadn't recognized him because of the vampiric visage he had on. His true face now. But for the fun of it, he let it revert to his human face, thoroughly enjoying the shock and horror written on the miserable man's face.   
  
"Holy Lord God, save me!" Marque exclaimed in terror as he tried to back away. But his legs wouldn't let him. Angelus had broken both his legs, one by one, and allowed him sufficient time to feel the pain of each leg he'd so callously snapped, as if his bone was nothing more than a dry twig.   
  
Angelus leered at him and grinned. "God wouldn't hear you now, old man. You're at my mercy, not His. To think of it, you look a little like me old man. He died, you know." the vampire said casually. "And I slayed that old bastard himself."   
  
"Stay away from me, hellspawn." Marque backed away further, trying desperately to escape. He fumbled inside for the silver crucifix he had always carried around and finally located it.   
  
"Why?" Angelus smiled, with no attempt at a trace of humanity. "I find it all so...amusing."  
  
The cool metal of the cross soothed Marque slightly as he raised it towards Angelus, who fought not to hiss and back away. The reflected light from the cross stabbed painfully at his eyes as he stood his ground and smiled coldly.  
  
"You are only human. Soon, you will tire, and I will have you."   
  
With a demonic smirk, he waited for the man's violently trembling hand to fall.   
  
******** 


End file.
